Krakow, Poland captures the Heart

The ancient white marble was too far away to brush with fingertips, but the sarcophagus of King Jadwiga certainly seemed real. As did the rest of the 14th century cathedral built by Wladislaw the Elbow-high, and the sprawling Renaissance castle next door - seemingly very real neighbors atop Krakow's Wawel Hill, which, in all likelihood, also was real. I was having trouble grasping such a magnificent seat of power for a nation that, well, didn't exist. At least not for centuries at a time. As the frequent capital of a country that has been on the wrong end of dozens of hostile takeovers - even disappearing from the map for 120 years - Krakow is having the last laugh. Whereas Dresden, Germany, and Warsaw had to be rebuilt from rubble (and Poles joke about Prague becoming a theme park), Krakow's medieval and Gothic treasures are intact in large part because of its invaders (but more on that later). Add to that dozens of contemporary galleries and museums covering the best (and worst) of times in Poland, and the kind of nightlife that comes with being home to 100,000 college students. I was in Krakow to seek out the new vibe in an old city, especially as Poland strives to meet European Union goals, as well as to better understand why the city, no longer the capital, is still considered the cultural heart of Poland.Or, as a fellow passenger on the train into town put it: "Warsaw is for business. Krakow is for life."

Aggressive neighbors

It's difficult enough keeping track of your own monarchs over the past 1,000 years, no less rulers during foreign occupations, but Jerzy Korta seemed to have it covered. Korta, a longtime guide in Krakow, had already shown my wife, Ann, and I the Gothic Church of St. Mary and its 39-foot-tall high altar (carved by Veit Stoss when Columbus was still trying to prove the world isn't flat), and we had moved on to the Wawel Hill. Wandering among the cheek-to-jowl chapels, tombs, statues and sarcophagi in the Wawel Cathedral, Korta rattled off dates, legends and names, from Boleslaw the Brave (not to be confused with Boleslaw the Curly, Boleslaw the Wrymouthed or Stanislaw the Furrowed Brow) to hometown hero Pope John Paul II,

archbishop of Krakow for 15 years. An odd jog in the royal line: King Jadwiga, a 10-year-old girl who was crowned "king" in 1384 instead of "queen" to make it clear she was the ruler, not a consort. She was later sainted and her cross at the cathedral is a major pilgrimage goal for the Polish. (An American living in Krakow told me there are two religious groups: conservative Catholics and really conservative Catholics: "This is a city that likes to go to church.") Interspersed throughout Korta's patter were glimpses of times when Krakow and Poland were run by someone other than Poles. Much of the story, however, is of geographical (not philosophical or psychological) subjugation. Captured, not conquered. According to Korta, Krakow never embraced communism; fought back during the Partition years when Poland was divided up among Russia, Prussia (Germany) and Austria; and maintained the unique languag

e through occupations by Hungary, Prussia, Russia, the Soviet Union, Sweden, the Tartars, Nazis and, in the middle 1600s, the army of Transylvania. There were silver linings: Krakow ended up part of Austria (instead of Prussia or Russia) during the Partition era, a fact that Krakovians say gives them a better disposition. And the lone positive note in the Nazi occupation during World War II is that the city was used as a regional command - much of which operated out of Wawel Royal Castle - and was spared the bombing that flattened Warsaw. "Poland has a very, very difficult history because of a very bad neighborhood," said Korta with a wry smile. "We have very aggressive neighbors." Krakow's 13th century Market Square, the centerpiece of the Old Quarter and the largest medieval town square in Europe (roughly the size of seven NFL football fields), is laden with atmosphere and attractions: more than two dozen cafes with bistro tables; the venerable Cloth Hall, still home to scores of vendor stalls and now a few of Poland's most impressive art museums; the (literally) Underground Museum, a modern take on the square's ancient past; the Town Hall Tower; and, in the morning shadow of the Church of St. Mary, an oddly placed Hard Rock Cafe. And lots of pigeons. Preferring both pigeons and tourists in smaller doses, we migrated to the Planty, a 52-acre greenbelt of gardens, trees, trails and monuments that circles the bulb-shaped Old Quarter. We strolled the walking

path up the east side, the raised Old Quarter on our left and the bustling modern city on our right, stopping often to examine the gardens, to watch the mix of travelers and locals and, a few times, to just stop. Once the location of the city's defensive walls and moat, the Planty was converted in the 1820s under Austrian rule - another silver lining from its many foreign occupations.

Factory unsealed

The sign was in Hebrew and Polish, but I'm pretty sure it said: "The remaining portion of this wall witnessed the absolute depth of mankind's cruelty - as well as the peak of a people's ability to survive." Or something like that. Having crossed the Vistula River to find the newish Schindler's Factory museum, I cut through Podgorze, the former Jewish Ghetto under Nazi occupation, now a blue-collar neighborhood dotted with tributes and reminders of its brutal past: the memorial chairs at Plac Bohaterow Gettathe; an art-installation cement tunnel with the letters AUSCHWITZ cut into the roof; and the aforementioned plaque on a 40-foot hunk of otherwise unremarkable gray wall built in 1941 to corral Polish Jews. The latest addition is the Schindler's Factory museum (the full name goes on for a while), that is attracting crowds to an out-of-the-way industrial neighborhood (much to the joy of taxi drivers). Tha

nkfully, the labyrinthine exhibition doesn't focus just on the events of the movie but on the entire occupation of Krakow, using sounds, scenes, photos and artifacts to re-create the experience of Nazi occupation - of living with little food and shelter and even less hope. With too much to absorb in a single visit, I drifted among the more visually striking and thought-provoking displays, scanning as much of the accompanying text as time - and psychological comfort - would allow. In an airy black-and-white room dedicated to Nazi life in Krakow, I felt my stomach drop when after five minutes, I finally noticed the entire floor was covered in swastika tiles. The factory isn't intended as a substitute for nearby Auschwitz. Because the Jewish community was so large in Krakow, it is a proportionate part of the exhibition. Schindler's slice of the tour - other than the name on the front of the building - is limited to a couple of rooms staged as the man's office, and the cafe off the lobby (the only place you'll see references to the movie - including one of Spielberg's hats).

Way off the grid

One of the more difficult tasks in the neighborhood started by (and named for) Kazimierz the Great in 1335 - long before the concept of streets on a grid, apparently - is trying to find the Hawaiian-themed cafe from the Cuban-themed bar. The former Jewish Quarter (before World War II) has become a focal point for an edgy, arty music and club scene where dozens of bars, from chic to shabby, vie for the zlotys of the thousands of students looking for a place to drink Piwo Zywiec (the local brew) while the tourists invade the Old Quarter across town. During the day we had toured the Remu'h Synagogue and Cemetery in Kazimierz, where the wailing wall is a puzzle of slabs from tombstones knocked down by Nazi soldiers, and th

at night we sampled traditional Polish and Jewish fare from a restaurant on Szeroka Street. While the buildings and businesses honor Kazimierz's ethnic past, barely a handful of Jews still live in the quarter. After dinner, we wandered the twisty streets in search of Propaganda, another themed bar that seemed an appropriate spot for toasting this former Eastern bloc country. Climbing the stairs into Propaganda, we were met with "Blinded by the Light" blaring and a room colored only by red lights and Soviet-era memorabilia. Quickly the noise outweighed the novelty and we ducked into La Habana with its Cohiba cigars and menu offering Cuba Libres, mojitos and something called "Adios Amigo." We lifted cold Piwos and toasted a picture of Che. While Krakow never embraced communism, the locals are big fans of toasting to its demise, apparently, in bars full of reminders among college-age drinkers not old enough to remember. Who's laughing now?

If you go

Where to Stay: Hotel Kazimierz II: 60 Starowioelna St., Kazimierz; +48 (012) 426-80-70 ; www.hk.com.pl (click on the British flag for English). Rates: $60-$80 per night, depending on booking method. The company has three other small hotels in Kazimierz.

What to do: Historical Museum of the City of Kraków (Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory branch): 4 Lipowa St., Podgorze; www.mhk.pl.

More information

City of Krakow tourism: www.krakow.pl/english/

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/29/TRQ61LA2KJ.DTL&ao=2#ixzz1bkutCHq6

* Budapest travel guide

Though plumb in the centre of Europe, Budapest, for me, always casts a hypnotic east-meets-west spell, thanks to its years under Ottoman rule. Dramatically divided by the Danube and reconnected by a series of elegant bridges, hilly Buda and flat Pest are distinctly different, rapid expansion in the 19th century having been followed by harsh years of warfare and repression in the 20th. Now, though, Budapest makes a highly diverting city to visit, rejuvenated, spruced up and full of unexpected treats. By turns gritty and romantic, tranquil and majestic, it also represents, in my view, the best value for money in Europe.

First off, I always head for the vast riverside Parliament, its square still peppered with bullet holes from the 1956 uprising, and then continue via St Stephen's Basilica to Andrássy, the great boulevard that sweeps up to Hero Square, best negotiated via the delightful old metro stations along its path.

Here I show friends the Postal Museum (No 3), set in a lavish, unchanged 1886 apartment (the interesting bit) and then spend much longer in the House of Terror (No 60; www.terrorhaza.hu), which recalls the Fascist and Communist regimes and acts as a memorial to those who were tortured or killed in the building.

"Look up," I order, as we stroll along, for the streets of Pest are lined with a magnificent jumble of Neoclassical, Historicist and Art Nouveau buildings (seek out the creations of Ödön Lechner, "Budapest's Gaudí").

Budapest boasts Continental Europe's first underground railway, built in 1896

But it's the favourite pastime of the Ottomans that provides the most unexpected fun for first-timers: wallowing like a pasha in one of the city's Turkish baths.

My favourites are palace-like Szechenyi, with its steaming outdoor pools, complete with chessboards, or – on Saturdays when mixed bathing is allowed – Rudas, the most intimate of the Ottoman baths. Along with coffee houses, they define Budapest.

In 1948 the Communists closed every coffee house in the city, but a few originals still exist, such Gerbeaud, New York, Central, Muvész (all in Pest) and Ruzwurm (Buda). Eat the cakes, it's the law: Esterházy and Dobos are my favourites. For a taste of Goulash Communism (as the era was known in Hungary), I love going to Jégbüffé (Ice Buffet) serving wonderful pastries, waffles (göfri) and ices with no-nonsense bossiness (queue here, pay there). It's part of an exuberant early (1911) shopping arcade, Párizsi udvar, worthwhile, despite its current neglected state.

Explore Pest one day, Buda the next. Cross by the Chain Bridge, take the funicular, and wander the museums, historic buildings and pretty streets of Castle Hill before taking the path down and nipping into Rudas for a hot plunge.

Back in Pest, the evenings draw me to the evocative Jewish Quarter, and the mornings to the exuberant Central Market for those all-important bags of paprika, bottles of Tokaji and bargain Hungarian foie gras that I can never resist taking home.

Getting there:

British Airways (0844 493 0787; www.ba.com), easyJet (0905 821 0905; www.easyjet.com) and Malev (0844 482 2360; www.malev.com) fly to Budapest. Once there, it’s cheapest for single travellers to take the shared ride AirportShuttle-Minibus for 2,900 huf (£7.50) direct to their door, while taxis cost around 5,000 huf (£15.50) to the centre.

The most readable and practical cultural guidebook is Visible Cities Budapest

Packages:

Eastern Europe specialists Kirker Holidays (020 7593 2283; www.kirkerholidays.com) offers packages to Budapest. Three nights at the Hotel Palazzo Zichy cost from £646 per person, including flights, transfers and the services of the Kirker concierge for tickets, table reservations and private guides.

Fine Art Travel (020 7437 8553; www.finearttravel.co.uk) has a four-night guided tour of Budapest, including private collections, in May from £2,275 per person.

The inside track:

Budapest’s Opera House (0036 1 332 7914; www.opera.hu) is the most ravishing in Europe and its tickets are a quarter of the price of Vienna’s (around £50), so catch a performance if you can; otherwise take the daily hour-long tour.

Budapest is not noted for shopping, but the varied antique shops of Falk Miksa utcá, where you can still find a bargain, are an exception.

Communist-era statues have been rounded up and are displayed in Memento Park.

A happier Communist legacy is the Children’s Railway (www.gyermekvasut.hu), staffed by 10 to 14 year-olds, that winds through the Buda Hills.

Two good lunch spots are the popular Seventies throwback Menza (Liszt Ferenc tér 2; 413 1482) when exploring Andrássy; and 21 (Fortuny utcá 21; 202 2113) when on Buda’s Castle Hill.

THE BEST HOTELS

Brody House
Terrific guest house-cum-private club: high ceilings, parquet floors, great art, cool customers, fabulous bedrooms, all for a good price (0036 70 931 1402; www.brodyhouse.com; doubles from £50).

Hotel Palazzo Zichy
Former private mansion that has been turned into a slick and great-value contemporary hotel; highly recommended (235 4000; www.hotel-palazzo-zichy.hu; doubles from £57).

Four Seasons Gresham Palace
Even if you aren’t staying, don’t miss this wonderful Art Nouveau landmark facing Chain Bridge. If you are, you’re in for a treat (268 6000; www.fourseasons.com/budapest; doubles from £215, including breakfast).

THE BEST RESTAURANTS

Café Kör
A lively favourite serving Hungarian food aimed at international tastes (Sas utca 7; 311 0053; www.cafekor.com).

Klassz
Animated bistro decorated in florals, with good food and superb wines; owned by the Hungarian wine society (Andrássy út 41; no reservations).

Gundel
Hungarian dishes under silver domes, virtuoso gipsy music – Budapest at its pre-war grandest. Take Sunday brunch upstairs in fabulous private rooms (889 8100; www.gundel.hu).

* Prague great Cafes & Restaurants

CAFES
AU GOURMAND
Dlouhá 10, Prague (00 420 222 329 060; www.augourmand.cz). There are three branches of this French-style café in Prague; this is arguably the nicest. Serves fresh sandwiches, soups and salads, plus home-made cakes and pastries. There are great fresh juices on offer. They will also custom-make cakes for any occasion.

CAFE SLAVIA
Smetanovo nábřeží 1012/2, Prague (00 420 224 218 493; www.cafeslavia.cz). The windows of Prague's most fabled café, Slavia, look out onto both the Castle and the bustle of NárodnííTrída, just opposite the National Theatre. Dissidents once gathered here, but it's been slicked up since then - too much, say the nostalgic. But Slavia is conveniently located; it serves a decent espresso and salmon toast; and the view of Prague streetlife can't be bettered. Open 8am-11pm.

GLOBE BOOKSTORE AND COFFEE HOUSE
Pštrossova 6 110 00, Prague (00 420 224 934 203; www.globebookstore.cz). A California-style café, serving soups, rolls, home-made cakes and good coffee. There is a daily changing menu and a special brunch menu on weekends and holidays. The balcony features a monthly changing exhibition of pictures or photos of young artists or art students. Good selection of new and second-hand books.

RESTAURANTS

BELLEVUE
Smetanovo ná brezí 18, Prague (00 420 222 221 443; www.bellevuerestaurant.cz). Prague's star restaurateur, Sanjiv Suri, considers Bellevue to be the flagship of his four-restaurant empire (which also includes the nearby V Zátisí, Circle Line and Mlýnec). None of the others can compete with Bellevue's view of Prague Castle, on the opposite bank of the Vltava; but to choose between them for the quality of the food would be a tough call. At Bellevue, the foundation of Czech cuisine, soup, becomes an art form; yet it is only a prelude to new interpretations of Bohemian classics: duck in slivovice (plum brandy), beef fillet with fiery horseradish. Prague's waiters have a well-earned reputation for rudeness, but the service at Bellevue is generally solid.

COWBOYS
Nerudova 40, Prague (00 420 296 826 107; www.kampagroup.com). Restaurateur Nils Jebens, best-known for haute cuisine at Kampa Park, opened this, the city's first proper steakhouse, just below Prague Castle. The cellar dining room has exposed brick arches and an airy, spacious feel, as well as an outdoor terrace. Steaks include tender filet mignon, entrecôte, rib eyes, and perfectly charred T-bones, plus Buffalo wings, Portobello mushroom burgers and Caesar salads. There is also an extensive wine list, evidenced in floor-to-ceiling displays of Rhône, Languedoc, and Burgundy vintages.

KAMPA PARK
Na Kampe 8b, Prague (00 420 296 826 112; www.kampapark.cz). The flagship restaurant of the stylish Kampa Group of restaurants (which includes Cowboys, above) owned by restaurateur Nils Jebens. Watching the Vltava from a heated terrace table at Kampa Park, just downstream from the Charles Bridge, has been a favourite pastime of visitors for years. The newly renovated riverside bar and seafood restaurant serves dishes including seared scallops with cauliflower, nuts, raisins and capers beurre blanc, and crusted halibut with spinach purée, vegetable foam and foie gras chips, coupled with over 150 wines.

KOGO
Havelská 499/27, Prague (00 420 224 210 259; www.kogo.cz). A chain of chic, inexpensive, Italian-style restaurants with great salads, antipasti, pizzas and pasta.

MLYNEC
Novotného lávka 9, Prague (00 420 221 082 208; www.mlynec.cz). From the same group as the more formal and expensive Bellevue (see above), Mlýnec offers high-quality fusion and Czech cuisine at the foot of the Charles Bridge, in a wonderful riverside location. Chef Marek Purkart is the only Czech chef to have been awarded the Michelin Bibendum, in 1999, 2001 and 2003. The alfresco dining terrace is ideal for summer months.

PALFFY PALAC CLUB
Valdstejnska 14, Prague (00 420 257 530 522; www.palffy.cz). The restaurant is one the first floor of the baroque and elegantly faded Pálffy Palace, which also provides the original porcelain and crystal they use here. The menu at times leans towards the more gimmicky end of fusion food (tiger prawns with green foam; ostrich carpaccio), but the cooking is good and the candle-lit, open-air terrace, with its fantastic views across the roofs of the Little Quarter and music filtering up from the conservatoire next door, pretty much defines the term 'romantic'.

U MALTEZSKYCH RYTIRU
Prokopska 10, Prague (00 420 257 530 075; www.umaltezskychrytiru.com). Cramped but cosy cellar restaurant in Mala Strana. Among its specialities: roast duck, wild boar and venison Chateaubriand.

U MALIRU
Maltézské namestí 11, Prague (00 420 257 530 318; www.umaliru.cz). Originally opened in 1543 and a favourite of Rudolf II, U Maliru has a vaulted ceiling decorated with frescoes of merry Bohemian maidens, and it serves a mix of traditional Czech dishes (potato and thyme soup, grilled pike-perch, strawberry dumplings), and haut-bourgeois French cuisine. An extraordinary wine list offers premier cru claret, fine Burgundy and vintage Champagne at prices that will make your credit card howl in protest. There's also a nice selection of Moravian wines for those who feel one mortgage is enough for the time being.

U MEDVIDKU
Na Perstyne 7, Prague (00 420 224 21 19 16; www.umedvidku.cz). It's impossible to imagine a traditional Czech night out without veprové, knedlíky a zelí (pork, dumplings and sauerkraut), served on heavy wooden tables alongside half-litres of Pilsner. The steamed dumplings are topped with shredded bits of bacon and usually made from potato dough, though bread dumplings are preferred by some for their gravy-absorbing qualities. In Prague, you will find the dish served with gusto at the city's own most traditional pub, U medvídku, in the Staré Mesto area, which is still frequented by hundreds of locals.

U ZLATE HRUSKY
Novy Svet 3, Prague (00 420 220 514 778; www.uzlatehrusky.cz). A stately wood-panelled restaurant in a gothic building, just opposite the Czech president's villa, 'The Golden Pear' serves food in the grand Habsburg manner. Starts include Iranian caviar (for those who can afford it at £100 for 30g) and game ragout with wild-mushroom roulade; for main courses there is duck with pears, cabbage and dumplings, and fillet of beef with duck livers, and curd cheese dumplings with plum sauce or chocolate soufflé for pudding. In fine weather you can eat outside, underneath the chestnut trees in the garden.

V ZATISI
Liliova 1, Prague (00 420 222 221 155; www.vzatisi.cz). Owned by the Zatisi catering group (who also own Bellevue, see above), V Zatisi has an excellent location and refined ambience. The food is a mix of Czech and international.

ZAHRADA V OPERE
Legerova 75, Prague (00 420 224 239 685; zahradavopere.cz). This stylish restaurant near the Opera House serves beautifully-presented fusion food, all served with edible flowers, from South African to Indonesian. Starters may include bobotie, a traditional Cape Malay dish of minced beef with spices, raisins and almonds, or king prawn grilled in salt butter, with flower salad and aioli wasabi. Main courses include pork noisettes wrapped in bacon, in prune and tomato marinade or beef sirloin with parsley yoghurt, orchids and potato puree. Good post-Opera choice.

* The art of dinning in Vienna

If any European capital knows how to enjoy the good life, it's Vienna. Compared to most modern urban centers, the pace of life here is slow. Locals linger over pastry and coffee at cafes. Concerts and classical music abound. And chatting with friends at a wine garden is not a special event but a way of life.
For many Viennese, the living room is down the street at the neighborhood coffeehouse, which offers light lunches, fresh pastries, a wide selection of newspapers, and "take all the time you want" charm (just beware of the famously grumpy waiters).
Each coffeehouse comes with its own individual character. Cafe Sperl dates from 1880, and is still furnished identically to the day it opened — from the coat tree to the chairs. Cafe Hawelka has a dark, "brooding Trotsky" atmosphere, paintings by struggling artists (who couldn't pay for coffee), smoked velvet couches, and a phone that rings for regulars. Mrs. Hawelka died a couple of weeks after Pope John Paul II. Locals suspect the pontiff wanted her much-loved "Buchteln" (marmalade-filled doughnuts) in heaven.
Make it a point to stop by Demel, the ultimate Viennese chocolate shop, filled with Art Nouveau boxes of choco-dreams come true: "Kandierte Veilchen" (candied violet petals), "Katzenzungen" (cats' tongues), and much more. An impressive cancan of cakes is displayed to tempt you into springing for the 10-euro cake-and-coffee deal (point to the cake you want).
You'll sure to see Sacher torte, the local specialty. Apart from its apricot filling, the recipe seems pretty simple ... chocolate on chocolate. You can sit inside the shop, with a view of the cake-making, or outside, with the street action. Fancy shops like this boast on their sign: "K.u.K." (meaning good enough for the "Konig und Kaiser" — king and emperor).
The Vienna Woods
For another royally good experience, head to the wine gardens. Clustered around the edge of town, mostly in the legendary Vienna Woods, wine-garden restaurants feature cold-cut buffets paired with fine Austrian wines in an old-village atmosphere with strolling musicians. If you visit in fall, try Sturm, the semi-fermented new wine made from the season's first grape harvest and only available in autumn. Many locals claim that it takes several years of practice to distinguish between Sturm wine and vinegar. The red version is so hearty and fruity that locals say "Eat up!" when toasting with it.
Of the many wine-garden suburbs, Grinzing is the most famous and lively. To avoid tour groups, try Nussdorf, popular with Viennese. Music-lovers head to Heiligenstadt to visit the Beethovenhaus wine-garden, where the composer lived and began work on his Ninth Symphony. Within Vienna, you'll find a colorful pub on nearly every street corner, filled with poetry teachers and their students, couples loving without touching, housewives on their way home from cello lessons, and waiters who enjoy serving hearty, affordable food and drinks.
Vienna claims to be the only city with a cuisine of its own. Vienna soups come with fillings, such as semolina dumpling or pancake slices. Wiener schnitzel is a breaded and fried veal (or pork) cutlet. For hardcore Viennese cuisine, drop by a "Wurstelstand."
The local hotdog stand is a fixture on city squares throughout the old center, serving a variety of hotdogs and pickled side dishes with a warm corner-meeting-place atmosphere. Or eat at Buffet Trzesniewski, famous for finger sandwiches with toppings like chicken liver or herring. The Naschmarkt Old World market has two parallel lanes — one lined with fun eateries, the other featuring high-end produce and gourmet goodies. This is where top chefs like to get their ingredients.
From July through early September, a thriving people scene erupts each evening in the park in front of the City Hall, where free concerts are broadcast on a giant screen. Scores of food stands and picnic tables are set up. There are no plastic cups, just real plates and glasses — Vienna wants the quality of the dining experience to be as good as the music that's about to begin. Thousands of folding chairs face a 60-foot-wide screen up against the building's Neo-Gothic facade.
The program differs every night, ranging from movies of opera to classical concerts. But even if you're not visiting in summer, you can get your fill of music by seeing the famous Vienna Boys' Choir, the world-renowned opera, or a hokey Mozart or Strauss concert performed by powdered-wigged musicians.
In this sleepy city, culture is king and locals are experts in the art of good living. Any traveler with an interest in slowing down and experiencing the finer things — a good cup of coffee, fine wine, heavenly music, or a Sacher torte with whipped cream — will feel right at home.

(Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. E-mail him at rick@ricksteves.com.

The architectural treasures of Budapest

TWO remarkable things happened in Budapest around 1900: The city shot up almost overnight, and Art Nouveau arrived, reshaping the face of Hungary's capital along glorious new lines. It was a happy coincidence for Budapest then and for visitors now, especially those who have a passion for Art Nouveau, which put its richly ornamental stamp on buildings, furniture, glass, ceramics, textiles and jewelry.
People make special trips to see Art Nouveau — to Prague, Czech Republic; Paris; Brussels; and Barcelona, Spain, but they rarely think of Budapest, known more for its old castle, a medieval set piece overlooking the Danube River. Beyond it, though, another ravishing Art Nouveau Budapest awaits, testifying to the city's blossoming and the beauty of the style that marked it. For more on this article, click here

Sister Cities: Prague Vienna Budapest

They say that the three Imperial capitals of Budapest, Prague and Vienna are like three sisters joined in birth, but separated by history. Veronika and I live in Prague, we’ve been to Vienna, and we wanted to see Budapest to test the theory. We took a five-day trip to the Hungarian capital to find out just what it’s like.
From Prague it was easy to jump on the Pannonia express train, which runs overnight to Budapest. The trip was comfortable, the sleep easy, and the ride much more pleasant than a trip to the airport and fussing around with planes. We arrived in the early morning on a beautiful spring day and walked through the city. Breakfast was a fresh-baked croissant from a curb-side bakery.
Budapest was historically two cities: Buda in the west and Pest in the east, and they came together in 1873. We settled into our accommodation, the Boulevard City Pension, on the eighth floor of a newer apartment block, just south of the heart of east-side Pest. From our room we could see the fortress Citadella atop Gellért Hill and catch a glimpse of the Duna, the Danube, rolling by.
In brilliant sunshine, we walked through the commercial center of Pest, around Deak Ter (the unremarkable main square) and across the Széchenyi Lánchíd (Chain Bridge), with its stone lions and wrought-iron lamps.
At the summit of Castle Hill, which dominates the Buda side of the Duna, we sat in the Halászbástya (Fisherman’s Bastion) and drank in the view over the twin cities.
The air was biting, but the sun was bright and, across the river, the white spires of the Parliament building gleamed. Strolling off the back of the hill brought us to the transport hub at Moskva Ter (Moscow Square), where we grabbed a tram bound for Margaret Island.
The island is a pleasant park, with statues and ruins cloaked by shady trees. We strolled through the 13th century ruins of a Franciscan church and a Dominican convent, and along the river where a coxswain in a scull bawled instructions at his rowers.From the northern end of the island we caught the No. 1 tram, looping east through the suburbs to the south of Pest, the river and our pension. That night we dined at Pascal Restaurant & Cafe, which served excellent, but mouth-puckeringly salty food.

I had a traditional Hungarian dish of pork in a mustard sauce with bacon, and Veronika had chicken with Parmesan mashed potatoes, but both dishes were so salty that we still wince at the memory. Eastern Europe has yet to embrace the low-sodium diet of the West, and you may often find the food more salty than you are used to.

We started the next day with a visit to the Széchenyi Thermal Baths. Budapest has long been known for its baths, and people still come to “take the waters” here. The Széchenyi is a good choice because it is in the open air and, if you can brave the chilly spring air, you can settle back in the 100° F (38° C) water and enjoy the sensation of steam rising from your head.

We also dropped into St. Stephen’s Basilica, a 20th century cathedral with magnificent stained glass and the Szent Jobb (Holy Right Hand) relic, the mummified hand of the eponymous St. Stephen. The Orszaghaz (House of Parliament), a neo-Gothic building with a handsome interior of tiered arches dripping with gold leaf, are also worth a visit.

On our last morning we paid a visit to the Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum (Hungarian National Museum), which offers a look at the span of Hungarian history. The World War II and Soviet-era displays were better than the older stuff, which was a little thin. A collection of carved stones, from Roman through Medieval times, was among the highlights for me.

In the afternoon we browsed the Nagy Vásárcsarnok (Central Market), searching for csabai — an air-cured Hungarian salami — for a sausage connoisseur friend. The 19th century market, which was restored in 1994, is a vast wrought-iron building stuffed with food stalls (on the ground floor) and clothes and souvenirs (on the mezzanine).

Csabai was easy to find. Selecting a vendor was a more daunting task. Every second store was a butcher’s shop, festooned with salami, bacon, sides of ham, plucked chickens and smoked meats. We selected a stall, sampled some salami and bought two, one for our friend and one just for us.

That night we caught the sleeper back to Prague, arriving home on a misty morning. So how does Budapest compare with her maidenly sisters? All three feature grandiose architecture from the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Triumphal arches, bridges, castles, churches and grand palaces adorn their high places, and you’ll encounter numerous statues of dukes, kings and saints while strolling the streets.

Prague is, in my humble opinion, the prettiest of the lot. The old town is compact, well-preserved and still charming. The parks of Petrin and Letna provide a relaxing counterpoint to the bustle of the Old Town, and from either you get grand views of the whole city. The Vltava, while modest in comparison to the Danube, is lively and on more of a human scale. However, Prague doesn’t have the grand boulevards of Vienna and Budapest, and the narrow streets can seem claustrophobic.

In contrast, Budapest’s sense of spaciousness derives from the broad banks of the Danube, but the city has squandered this advantage by lining both banks with motorways. Its historic buildings are more spread out than Prague, diluted among the rest of the city. It does have the best open space and the best choice of parks, however. It also has the finest set of viewpoints, with the towering Gellért Hill and the smaller Castle Hill.

Vienna seems more businesslike, more Western, and in an indefinable way, more Austrian. The streets seem more formal, the culture more restrained, the people more refined. The city center is bulky and dominated by heavy modern buildings that obscure Vienna’s historic landmarks. Vienna also lacks the positive influence of a river; the Danube here is too separated from the center to contribute much to city life.

The people of each town are an interesting study. The Czechs, in my experience, are a dour lot. In public, smiles rarely, if ever, grace their faces, and cheerful conversation with tourists is non-existent. The Viennese are welcoming and well spoken, but sometimes I get the faintest whiff of condescension. The Hungarians, however, are positive, open and friendly. They look forward to meeting people and happily pass the time chatting with me.

If you have time, you should try to see all three of the Imperial cities. If you have time to visit only one of the three, you will at least get a taste of what the other sisters have to offer.

Vienna is the big sister — a refined, modern European grand dame. Prague, the middle sister, is a beautiful and stately matron with subtle charms. And Budapest is the vivacious youngster, an up-and-coming belle of the European Union. Enjoy them all.

For a list of Eastern European tours, click on http://ytravelc.com/easterneuropeescortedtoursandindependentvacations.htm

Article taken from : "GoWorldTravel"

Prague for $100 per day

In times of a recession-battered economy there are plenty of opportunities to save money when traveling to the Czech Republic, where you can enjoy everything Europe has to offer without the Euro! The Czech Republic uses the local currency—Czech Crown—offering unique experiences for $100 or less a day.

Prague and other Czech cities offer discounted cards—the Prague Card, for example—providing public transport and free entry to over 50 of the best tourist attractions in Prague. A free walking tour through magnificent Prague starts in the Old Town Square and Astronomical clock, and follows to the Powder Tower, Wenceslas Square, National Museum, and Jewish Ghetto. There’s free entrance to most historical architecture, churches, art, shopping, markets, gardens and parks.

Prague offers accommodations at rates much lower than in other European countries. The centrally located three-star Hotel Cloister Inn has accommodation and free wireless Internet at $75 per night in Prague’s historical Old Town. A part of a monastery complex dating from medieval times, Cloister Inn Hotel’s property was once also used by the secret police.

The family restaurant Cerny Kohout Czech-inspired three-course menu showcases truly great cuisine just for $12!

Lovers of performing arts can experience the famous musical heritage of the Czech Republic at reasonable prices. Prague boasts a world-class music scene, with concerts, operas, and ballets performed throughout the year in the city’s famous theaters. Cheap tickets are available for afternoon concert performances at the National Theater, the Estates Theater and the Prague State Opera, with balcony seats going for as little as $5.

Beginning June 18 Delta Airlines will offer a nonstop flight from JFK to Prague three times weekly.